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Chapter 8

December 26th, 2012

Lea was getting the girls ready to go shopping with Dianna, Edith and Ann. She was looking forward to some bonding with the two of them. It was going to be a good day.

Olivia asked, "Mommy, can I stay with Uncle Marky and daddy?"

Lea got down to her level as she helped her put on her cute little leggings. Lea said, "Your daddy and Uncle Marky are going to be watching hockey all day with gramps."

"Please mommy."

"You will have to ask your daddy, Uncle Mark and gramps when Uncle Mark gets here."

Sophia said, "I want to go shopping. I don't know anything about hockey. I like spending time with you and Aunt Di."

Lea smiled. "We like spending time with you, too."

Lea and the girls walked downstairs to see Cory at the door with Mark and Dianna who had just gotten there.

Olivia went running to Mark. He picked her up and said, "Hey short stuff. How's it going?"

She asked, "Can I stay with you, daddy and gramps today? You can teach me hockey and other stuff."

Cory asked, "You really want to stay with us. Are you sure you don't want to go with mommy and the other girls shopping?"

"Mommy said I can stay with you if it is okay with you. I want to stay with you, Uncle Marky and gramps."

Cory took her in his arms and kissed her cheek. "Of course you can stay with us if you want to, princess. I just didn't know if you would want to. We are going to be playing video games and watching hockey. It may not be very much fun for a little girl like you."

"I want to stay!"

All the guys laughed and said at once, "Okay. You got it. You can stay."

Lea said, "Girls, we should be going. We don't want to miss out on any of the sales. There are so many things out there to find."

Cory came over and kissed her on the cheek. He asked, "Are you sure you are okay with Livy staying with us?"

Lea replied, "Of course. She loves you and Mark. She just wants to spend some time with you. I understand that. I'm going to miss her, but they need some time apart to be their own people and we need to get to know them separately. We will be home around six or seven. If you need anything, call me. My cell will be on all day. Don't corrupt the poor girl. Keep the language to a minimum. I love you."

Cory smiled and kissed Lea. "I love you too, Lee. I'll see you tonight. I'm going to miss you."

"Not as much as I am going to miss you." The girls said goodbye to the guys and left for their shopping adventure.


Lea took Sophia to a children's store and let her pick out a new leotard for her ballet recital that she was so excited about. She picked out a leotard that was pink and green polka dotted. Sophia gave Lea a hug and said, "Thank you for the new leotard, mommy."

Lea asked, "Do you think we should get one for Livy, too?"

"Yeah. She likes green." The two of them picked out a leotard for Olivia with the help of Dianna, Edith and Ann.

Sophia asked, "Can we go out to eat? I'm hungry."

All of the girls laughed. Lea told her, "Of course." Sophia took her hand and walked with her.

Dianna asked Sophia, "How do you like your new house, Sophie?"

Sophia got a big smile on her face and said, "Yeah! Mommy and daddy are great. Livy and I went to another house before this one and had a mommy and daddy."

Ann asked "What happened?"

"They found out they were having another baby. They couldn't take care of three kids at once. They were going to keep me, but I couldn't leave Livy. I threw a fit until they just took both of us back. I'm happy with are with mom and dad instead. I don't think they liked us that much anyway."

Edith said, "I'm sure that isn't true. I don't see how anyone couldn't like you. We are glad you are here though. You are in our lives."

Lea wiped a tear from her eye and picked up Sophia in her arms. She said, "You are with your daddy and I now. We aren't going to let you go."

Sophia asked, "What if you have another baby?"

"We will always be fine. You know your daddy and I love you and Livy very much. That isn't going to change. You have nothing to worry about. Lets go eat."

The five girls went out to eat and had a good day at the end of the day.


Cory was sitting on the couch watching the game. He looked over to see Livy sitting on Mark's lap watching the game intently. Mark started tickling her. She said, "Stop Uncle Marky! I'm watching the game!"

Cory laughed and said, "That's my girl!"

Olivia came over and sat by Cory. She laid her head on his lap. She looked up at him and said, "I love you, daddy."

Cory looked down at her and said, "I love you too, baby. I'm glad you stayed with us today."

"Me too. I miss mommy though."

"I miss her, too. She will be back soon with your sister. Is there anything you want?"

Olivia batted her eyelashes and asked, "Can we have some ice cream?"

"I think we can handle that."

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, baby girl."

"I'm a big girl. I'm not a baby."

Cory laughed at her remark. "I know that. It's a nickname."

"Oh okay."

Cory took Olivia into the kitchen and get the ice cream. He handed her a bowl and said, "Take this to your Uncle Mark, please. Then we will have another bowl for your gramps. Then we will have our bowls."

Olivia smiled and said, "Okay." She took the bowls of ice cream into Mark and Marc. Then she came back in the kitchen to get her own bowl. She walked back into the living room and sat next to Cory. She started digging into it.

Cory couldn't stop watching her. Her face was covered in the vanilla ice cream. The guys were laughing at her. Mark asked, "Livy, are you getting any of that ice cream in your tummy?"

Olivia got the biggest smile on her face. She just kept eating away. Cory got up and got a paper towel and wiped her face off. He smiled. He couldn't get over how perfect Olivia was.


Lea and the girls walked in the house. Olivia jumped off Mark's lap and ran to Lea. She jumped in her arms and said, "Mommy, I missed you. Can I go shopping with you next time?"

Lea kissed her cheek and told her, "I missed you, too. Of course you can go with us next time. Did you not have a good time with your daddy, Uncle Mark and gramps?"

"Yeah, but I don't know anything about hockey." Everyone laughed.

"Don't worry about it. I don't know anything about hockey either. It's okay. We got you something for your recital."

Lea showed her the green leotard with what looked like multicolored fireworks on it. Olivia was giddy for it. She hugged Lea and went to try it on.


Cory and Lea were lying in bed when Lea burst into tears. Cory rolled over to look at her. He asked, "What is the matter, beautiful?"

Lea sniffled and said, "Sophie told us about another house she went to today. These people brought them in and got them close to them. Then they found out that they were pregnant and took them back. Cory, she was so sad. I think she is afraid it is going to happen again."

Cory kissed her nose. "Babe, you know it isn't going to happen again. We love them and they are like our own already and they have only been with us a week."

"What if we do have a baby? We can't forget about them. They are going to need attention and love just as much as a baby will. They have been in a foster home. Foster homes aren't the easiest places to be. I want to make sure they realize that they are loved."

"They know that, Lee. They will be fine. We don't plan on having kids any time soon. It is going to be all about them and getting them comfortable."

"I am glad you feel this way. I'm just worried about nothing. They are so little and have been through so much already. They were in the car when their parents were killed and they have been let down. I don't want to be another person to add to that list."

"You are a great mom, Lee. You have nothing to worry about. Lets get some sleep. We will spend the day together tomorrow and the next couple before we start filming again on the second. We get to do our first true parent thing in a couple of days. Is it weird that I am excited about a little kids' ballet recital?"

Leaned over and kissed Cory full on the mouth. "Of course not. That just makes you a great dad."

The two of them fell asleep holding each other.